Impact of the ongoing industrial action on security of supply (assessment 5 April 2024)

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) has announced that the ongoing industrial action will be suspended on 8 April. It may take weeks for the situation to normalise completely, and the National Emergency Supply Agency continues to monitor the impacts of the industrial action closely. One critical moment will be when port traffic starts up again next week, and the subsequent congestion in logistics may cause delays in deliveries.

So far, the impacts of the industrial action in terms of security of supply have focused especially on fuel supply, logistics and manufacturing. In terms of fuel supply, the situation has remained stable and no security of supply disruptions are expected. Before Easter on 26 March, the Finnish Industrial Union decided to exclude a certain amount of fuel from the strikes, ensuring the availability of fuel for critical transport operations. The action has safeguarded fuel distribution essential to security of supply and also helped secure critical transport operations during the industrial action.

The National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA) has also been monitoring the impacts of the strikes on food supply, among other sectors. At present, the strikes are not expected to have any immediate impacts on the availability of food and other daily consumer goods.

At the beginning of the industrial action, the NESA raised its own preparedness and has since been monitoring the situation at an intensified level. As part of this monitoring, the NESA has been compiling and regularly updating a situational picture based on information received from companies critical to security of supply and other parties.

Close and effective cooperation

Although the industrial action has naturally had significant impacts on the national economy and businesses, its impacts on security of supply have remained relatively minor. However, the measures taken to safeguard security of supply and cooperation between authorities, companies and all other parties have played a major role in ensuring this.

At the start of the industrial action, the Finnish Industrial Union released jet fuel for distribution to Finnish airports based on a proposal submitted by the NESA so that critical flights related to health care, for example, could be carried out. The distribution of jet fuel to authorities, such as medical helicopters, the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard, was also ensured. The NESA has also been involved in ensuring the adequate availability of LPG to food supply, social welfare and health care operators critical to security of supply.

The NESA has been communicating about the impacts of the industrial action on security of supply by publishing weekly assessments. This will be the final assessment for now, and the NESA’s next overall situational picture of security of supply is set to be published on Monday 22 April.